Electrical relays



June 4, 1963 1 A COHEN ELECTRICAL RELAYS Filed July 7, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVENTOR. /r win A. Cohen June 4, 1963 l. A. COHEN ELECTRICAL RELAYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 7, 1960 INVENTOR /rw/n A. Cahen United States Patent Oce 3,092,700 Patented June 4, 1963 3,092,700 o ELECTRICAL RELAYS Irwin A. Cohen, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Automatic Electric Laboratories, Inc., Northlake, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 7, 1960, Ser. No. 41,297 6 Claims. (Cl. 200-87) My invention relates to electrical relays, .and'more particularly to High-G or highly shock resistant relays, particularlyfof the kind mounted in a cylindrical shell.

Prior art relays of this type encounter relatively high reluctance between the armature and pole pieces ydue to the air gaps between the cooperating lfaces. In addition these relays depend solely on single contacts as opposed to twin contacts, therefore, relay `failure is incurred once the sole contact becomes contaminated or dam-aged. f Furthermore, when adjusting these relays the contact springs themselves require adjusting. My invention is designed to minimize these shortcomings.

Therefore, it is an object of my invention to provide a relay of the above kind having an armature of a design resulting in a minimum amount of reluctance, and thus operative with a minimum amount of electrical power.

Another object of my invention is to provide a relay having a spring contact arrangement that will be most reliable and sensitive.

Another object of my invention is to provide a relay having a Contact spring actuating means which can be adjusted for correct engagement with the contact springs thereby eliminating the more difficult adjustment on the contact springs themselves. My invention as herein disclosed features in general a cylindrical shell closed at one end with a header disc, holding externally protruding terminal posts forming the closure of the other end. Within this shell a core holding a coil is transversely disposed having pole pieces placed at its ends so as to extend parallel to the axis of the shell. Surrounding the coil is a window type armature that rotates about the axis of the shell in a predetermined arc between the pole pieces and a set of permanent magnets. These magnets are mounted at the. closed end of the shell. Upon one of the armature cross-legs a circular actuator plate is mounted, holding adjustable glass-beaded pins, which engage with the contact springs. The contact springs are mounted to the terminal posts and are operative between station-ary contacts also mounted to terminal posts.

These and other objects and features of my invention will become more apparent from a more Idetailed consideration of its description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation View of a relay embodying the features of this invention.

rFIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a glass beaded pin of the actuator plate engaging with a -contact spring.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the header disc of the relay as viewed from lines 3 3, with the stationary and movable contacts mounted thereon.

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view of elements of the electromagnetic device and how they relate to each other.

FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective view of a coil 4and an enclosure therefor.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, FIGURE l designates in general a relay assembly comprising the casing, the contact springs, and the electromagnet. More specifically, the relay casing Vconsists of an outer cylindrical shell 30 which is closed at one end :and has a flange at the open end thereof. Mounted against this ilange is a corresponding flange of a header assembly 311 which has a circular aperture lled with a glass section 32 wherein extending terminal posts 28, 39, and 54 and hollow tubes 53 are disposed and secured. Thus, header assembly 31 forms an air tight closure to relay shell 30.

The details as well as the arrangement of contact springs 27 lare shown in FIGURE 2 and FIGURE 3. Contact springs 27, made of resilient material and biased as a result of being formed, are radially arranged about the axis of the relay on terminal posts 28 disposed within glass section 32. At one end of the generally fork shaped contact spring 27 there is a mounting loop which permits contact spring 27 to be slipped over the inwardly extending portion of the terminal posts 28 and welded thereto. At the other end of contact spring 27 is an extend-ing central finger portion 33 which is engaged by a glass beaded pin 26 extending from an actuator plate 25. Central linger portion 33 is flanked by two cont-act por-tions 34 and 35 having on their front and back sides contact elements 36. These contact elements 36 cooperate with corresponding stationary contact ele-ments 37 and 38 respectively, mounted on terminal posts 39 also disposed within and extending from glass section 32 of header disc 31.

rI'he electromagnet generally consists of elements shown in FIGUR-E 4, wherein a round magnetic core 11 is positioned normal to the axis of the relay casing, and supported at the ends by being attached to pole pieces 12 and 13 which extend parallel to the relay axis. This assembly, comprising of pole pieces 12 and 13 and core 11, is secured within the relay casing lby mounting, with use of tie pins 16, 17, 18 and l19, a cross-bracket '15 at one end of pole pieces 12 and 13 and an hour-glass bracket 14 at the opposite end, and thereafter welding cross-bracket 15 to the casing. Therefore, hour-glass'bracket 14 which is positioned at the closed end of shell 30 supports the asvsembly whereas cross-bracket 15 positioned at the opposite Vend of the pole pieces 12 and `13 locks the assembly within the relay and from any relative movement. Hour-glass bracket "14 which conforms to two segments of a circular plate connected at their apex has three apertures; two of which are used for the insertion of tie pins 18 and 19, and the third used to center a bearing pin lil. Furthermore, extending from hour-glass bracket 14 are two studs 40-which are used to space hour-glass bracket 314 from the closed end of shell 30 and thereby provide space for rotation of a cross-leg of armature 20; Cross+bracket 15 also has three apertures; two of which are used for the insertion of tie pins y16 and 17, and the third used to center the opposite bearing pin 42. Moreover, cross-bracket has fourarm-s with turned-up ends which extend to the inner surface of the casing thereby providing substantial surface area for welding them to the casing,

Mounted to core 11 and positioned between pole pieces l12 and :13 is a coil which is hermetically sealed within a metal cylindrical-shaped enclosure 10. Enclosure 10 as shown in FIGURE 5 comprises an inner sleeve 52 carrying coil 50, an outer sleeve 57 surrounding coil 50, and end pieces 51 forming a closure thereto. Extending from -outer sleeve `57 are two coil windings lead-out terminals 55 through which the ends of coil winding 56 extend. These ends are soldered within hollow tubes 53 which are strapped to terminal posts 54, both of which are disposed within glass section 32. The hermetical seal provents organic gases from escaping from the coil and ,contaminating contact springs 27 causing thereby a possible inefficiency in the relay operation.

Surrounding this hermetically sealed coil and brackets 14 and 15 is a window type armature 20 which rotates about the axis of the relay casing. Armature 20 having upright legs and cross-legs is mounted by means of the inwardly extending bearing pins 41 and 42 of the crosslegs being journaled by the center apertures of cross bracket 15 and hour glass bracket 14. Rotational travel of armature 20` is limited by pole pieces 12 and 13` at one end and permanent magnet assemblies 58 and 59 at the other end. The effect of this limitation is that faces 20A and 20B of the two upright legs, cooperate with corresponding faces 12A and 513A of pole pieces 12 and 13 upon energizing of the coil, and permanent magnet assemblies 58 and 59 cooperate with faces 20C and 20D of one of the cross-legs upon deenergizing of the coil. Faces 20A and `20B are parallel with each other and equal distance from the axis of rotation. They are so formed t-o remain substantially parallel with faces 12A and `13A over the entire arc of travel. Moreover, outer faces 20F also of the upright legs conform to the relay casings inside periphery to enable the upright legs to be a maximum distance away from the axis of rotation thus providing a maximum torque upon the armature for a given amount of magnetic pull.

Permanent magnet assemblies r58 and 59, each consisting of a mounting bracket 21 and 22 and a permanent magnet element 23 and 24, serve to counteract rebound vtendencies incurred from inherently bias contact springs 27 moving armature 20 against permanent magnet elements 23 and 24 with considerable velocity and impact. This impact is :dissipated throughout the shell structure by virtue of the permanent magnet elements mounting brackets 21 and 22 extending and conforming to the inner surface of the relay casing.

Secured to face 20E of one of the cross-legs is a circular actuator plate 25 holding the six individually adjustable radially arranged glass beaded pins 26'. These pins are located at the periphery of actuator plate 25 or a maximum distance away from the axis of rotation, and therefore the pins move in an arc a suflicient amount to actuate spring contacts 27, although armature 20 rotates a minimum amount.

Adjustment of the glass beaded pins 26 with the contact springs 27 is made by individually adjusting pins 26 with a long nose plier or a similar tool. This adjustment is made as opposed to the more difficult and skillful adjustment of the contact springs 27.

The described elements operate upon energizing and deenergizing of coil 50 Within casing 10, therefore the relay is responsive to electrical power furnished at terminal post 54. Upon energizing coil 50 a magnetic eld is set up through the magnetic structure of the relay consisting primarily of core 11, pole pieces 12 and 13, and armature 20. This field attracts the Irotatable amature 20 at faces 20A and 20B to faces 12A and 13A of pole pieces 12 and 13l respectively. These faces in their restored position are separated by a minimum air gap, thus the magnetic eld is required to overcome a minimum reluctance set up by the air gap. To facilitate this operation the faces as a result of their configuration, remain substantially parallel in the restored position as Well as in the energized position, although the armature moves in an arc as opposed to a straight line. The effect of this magnetic cooperation is that a minimum amount of power is required to close the air gap between the faces based on the fact that the smaller is the distance between the faces the greater is the attracting force.

Furthermore, upon energizing the coil, glass beaded pins 26 of actuator plate 25 engage with the extended central linger portions 33 moving thereby the contact portions 34 and 35 from one stationary contact to another stationary contact or from the restored position to the energized position. Thusly, is the break-make contact operation of the relay completed. To insure that the contact elements 36 make with the stationary contact elements '37 and 38 the glass beaded pins 26 do not reach the end of their travel until after contact elements 36 are in contact with the stationary contacts 37 and 38. In addition, to insure contact the contact springs 27 as Well as corresponding stationary contacts 37 and 38 are of the twin contact type. This, for instance, insures contact even though one contact may be contaminated. v

Upon deenergizing of the coil the biased contact springs 27 move to the opposite stationary contacts or the restored position thereby moving the armature 20 against the permanent magnet elements 23 and 24. These elements 23 and 24 prevent the armature from rebounding and also serve as back stops.

My invention has been described in detail, however, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the detail and structure may be made without departing from the scope of my invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In an electrical relay the combination comprising; a cylindrical shell closed at one end, a header ldisc forming a closure for the other end of said shell; a magnetic core transversely disposed within said shell, a coil assembly mounted on said core, means for sealing said coil assembly pole pieces of magnetic material attached to the ends of said core and extending transverse to the axis thereof, a window frame type armature surrounding said coil mounted `for rotation about the axis of said shell and having side legs extending parallel to said axis and cross legs extending normal to said axis, said cross legs and said pole pieces having faces which magnetically cooperate upon energizing of said coil, permanent magnets acting upon one of said cross-legs to aid in restoring said armature to normal position upon deenergizing of said coil, said magnets are mounted to two mounting bases attached to the closed end of said shell, said mounting bases conforming to the inner cylindrical surface of said shell, a plurality of spring biased contact springs generally radially extending from said axis and mounted to terminal posts disposed within said header disc, and means operated by said armature for actuating said contact springs against their bias.

2. In an electrical relay the combination comprising; a cylindrical shell closed at one end, a header disc forming a closure for the other end of said shell, a magnetic core transversely disposed Within said shell, a coil assembly mounted on said core, means for sealing said coil assembly pole pieces of magnetic material attached to the ends of said core and extending transverse to the axis thereof, a window frame type armature surrounding said coil mounted for rotation about the axis of said shell and having side legs extending parallel to said axis and upper and lower cross legs extending transversely to said axis, said armature legs and said pole pieces having faces magnetically cooperating upon energizing of said coil, permanent magnets cooperating with said lower cross-leg of said armature upon tdeenergizing of said coil, an actuator plate carried on the upper cross-leg of said armature having glass beaded actuator pins extending therefrom, a plurality of contact springs generally radially extending from said axis, mounted to terminal posts disposed within said Iheader disc, and said contact springs haivng a central linger portion actuated by said actuator pins.

3. In an electrical relay the combination as set forth in claim l wherein said central nger portion is ilanked by two contact portions of equal length, each of said contact portions having a 'contact element on front and back side, and -front and back contacts mounted to terminal posts also disposed within said header disc which cooperate with said contact elements respectively.

4. In .an electrical relay the combination comprising: a cylindrical shell yclosed at one end; a header disc forming a Iclosure -for the other end of said shell; a magnetic core transversely disposed within said shell; a sealed casing having an inner sleeve extending therethrough which receives said magnetic core; a `coil assembly positioned Within said sealed casing and hermetically sealed thereby; a pair of lpole pieces made of magnetic material each attached to an end of said core adjacent said sealed casing and having a first face; an armature mounted for rotation about the axis of said shell and having a second face positioned so as to be in a cooperating relationship to said rst face; a plurality of contact springs generally radially extending from the axis towards the circumference of said shell and mounted through terminal posts disposed within said header disc; and means operated by said armature for actuating said contact springs.

5. In an electrical relay the combination comprising: a cylindrical shell closed at one end; a header disc forming a closure for the other end of said shell; a magnetic core transversely disposed within said shell; a sealed casing having an outer sleeve an inner receiving said magnetic core and two end pieces forming a closure to said sleeves; a coil assembly positioned Within said sealed casing and hermetically sealed thereby; a pair of pole pieces made of magnetic material each attached to an end of said core transversely `to the axis of said core and adjacent said end pieces; a window frame type armature receiving said sealed casing and mounted for rotation about the axis of said shell, said armature having two side legs extending parallel to said axis and an upper and lower cross leg which extend through said axis in a plane normal thereto, said side legs and said pole pieces having magnetically cooperating faces, said cooperating faces lie in two planes substantially parallel to each other and equal distance from the :axis of said shell; a plurality of contact springs gener-ally radially extending from the axis towards the `circumference of said shell and `mounted to terminal posts disposed Within said header disc, and means openated by said armature for 4actuating said contact springs.

6. In an electrical relay the combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein the outer yfaces of said side legs conform to the inner cylindrical surface of said shell.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,805,301 Shaw Sept. 3, 1957 2,854,545 Nemetll Sept. 30, 1958 2,923,794 Keeran Feb. 2, 1960 2,927,177 Nemeth Mal'. l, 1960 2,951,134 Lazich Aug. 30, 1960 2,952,755 Brinker et al Sept. 13, 1960 2,960,583 Fisher NOV. 15, 1960 2,976,379 Rhodes Mer. 21, 1961 3,005,071 Brunicardi Oct. 17, 1961 3,042,773 Keller et al. July 3, 1962 

1. IN AN ELECTRICAL RELAY THE COMBINATION COMPRISING; A CYLINDRICAL SHELL CLOSED AT ONE END, A HEADER DISC FORMING A CLOSURE FOR THE OTHER END OF SAID SHELL; A MAGNETIC CORE TRANSVERSELY DISPOSED WITHIN SAID SHELL, A COIL ASSEMBLY MOUNTED ON SAID CORE, MEANS FOR SEALING SAID COIL ASSEMBLY POLE PIECES OF MAGNETIC MATERIAL ATTACHED TO THE ENDS OF SAID CORE AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSE TO THE AXIS THEREOF, A WINDOW FRAME TYPE ARMATURE SURROUNDING SAID COIL MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT THE AXIS OF SAID SHELL AND HAVING SIDE LEGS EXTENDING PARALLEL TO SAID AXIS AND CROSS LEGS EXTENDING NORMAL TO SAID AXIS, SAID CROSS LEGS AND SAID POLE PIECES HAVING FACES WHICH MAGNETICALLY COOPERATE UPON ENERGIZING OF SAID COIL, PERMANENT MAGNETS ACTING UPON ONE OF SAID CROSS-LEGS TO AID IN RESTORING SAID ARMATURE TO NORMAL POSITION UPON DEENERGIZING OF SAID COIL, SAID MAGNETS ARE MOUNTED TO TWO MOUNTING BASES ATTACHED TO THE CLOSED END OF SAID SHELL, SAID MOUNTING BASES CONFORMING TO THE INNER CYLINDRICAL SURFACE OF SAID SHELL, A PLURALITY OF SPRING BIASED CONTACT SPRINGS GENERALLY RADIALLY EXTENDING FROM SAID AXIS AND MOUNTED TO TERMINAL POSTS DISPOSED WITHIN SAID HEADER DISC, AND MEANS OPERATED BY SAID ARMATURE FOR ACTUATING SAID CONTACT SPRINGS AGAINST THEIR BIAS. 